Latest news with #ScottishOpen2025
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Oakmont bans former US Open champion Wyndham Clark for damaging locker
Wyndham Clark of the US on day four of the Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland, Sunday July 13, 2025. (Malcolm Mackenzie/PA via AP) OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark won't be allowed back at Oakmont Country Club until he pays to fix the locker he damaged and gets counseling for his anger. Golf Digest obtained a letter that club president John Lynch sent to Oakmont members this week about the incident during last month's U.S. Open, when Clark smashed up his locker out of frustration. Media were not allowed in the locker room, but a photo was leaked and went viral. Advertisement 'Following multiple discussions with the USGA and the OCC Board, a decision has been made that Mr. Clark will no longer be permitted on OCC property,' Lynch said in the letter. 'Reinstatement would be contingent upon Mr. Clark fulfilling a number of specific conditions, including full repayment for damages, a meaningful contribution to a charity of the Board's choosing, and the successful completion of counseling and/or anger management sessions.' Clark received a 10-year exemption for winning the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023. The exemption ends in 2033, the next time Oakmont is to host the U.S. Open. The storied club has held the U.S. Open nine times, the most of any U.S. Open site. Clark said a week later at the Travelers Championship that 'I made a mistake that I deeply regret' and he was sorry. Advertisement 'But I'd also like to move on, not only for myself but for Oakmont, for the USGA, and kind of focus on the rest of this year and things that come up,' he said. Last week at the Scottish Open he told reporters that he had turned the page. According to Oakmont, he has offered to pay for repairs. 'Yeah, I mean, I made a mistake in a moment of rage with a bad year and everything coming together and it just was more than anything a good wake-up call for me to say, 'Hey, you know what, let's get back on track and things aren't that bad,'' Clark said. Clark, who reached as high as No. 3 in the world last year, has only one top 10 on the PGA Tour in the 2025 season. He has dropped to No. 28 in the world, No. 22 in the Ryder Cup standings and at No. 78 in the FedEx Cup is in danger of missing the postseason. ___ AP golf:
Japan Today
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Japan Today
Chris Gotterup outlasts Rory McIlroy to win Scottish Open and head to Portrush
Chris Gotterup of the USA on day four of the Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland, Sunday July 13, 2025. (Malcolm Mackenzie/PA via AP) golf Chris Gotterup had a plane ticket for California to play an opposite-field event in Lake Tahoe. The only change in itinerary would be to take down Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a sellout crowd expecting the Masters champion to claim his 30th title on the PGA Tour. Gotterup handled it all with poise to go with his great strength. He delivered all the right shots — the short birdie putt on the par-3 12th to build a two-shot lead, the 10-foot birdie on the par-5 16th to restore a two-shot lead — and closed with a 4-under 66 to hold off McIlroy and Marco Penge of England. The victory sends him to Royal Portrush for his British Open debut, an extended trip to links golf that is starting to suit him. Time to cancel that flight. 'I might do it right now in front of you," Gotterup said, the trophy at his side that also sends him to the Masters next year for the first time. He earned those perks. Gotterup, tied with McIlroy to start the final round, drove into a bunker and had to make a nervy 4-footer for bogey on the opening hole. That was a reminder nothing was going to come easily. 'I definitely was the villain out there today,' he said. 'I felt like I was ready and prepared mentally today. And that's kind of what I've been talking about over the last couple of weeks, that I've kind of gotten into the mix a little bit and just faded away a little bit. And today, my goal was to hang in there tough and I felt like I did that really well.' He finished at 15-under 265 and moves into the top 50 in the world for the first time. 'Chris played a great round of golf. He was so solid,' McIlroy said. 'Made the bogey on 15 but bounced back with a really nice birdie on 16. After he got a couple ahead, I just couldn't claw back.' Gotterup was one shot ahead of McIlroy when he hit his tee shot on the 196-yard 12th hole to 2 feet for birdie — McIlroy missed from 4 feet — to take command. His lead was down to one over McIlroy and Penge, but McIlroy missed a 12-foot birdie at the par-5 16th and Gotterup hit a right-to-left putt from 10 feet in the heart of the cup for a two-shot lead with two to play. Gotterup was so emotional when it was over he could barely speak, rubbing his eyes before saying, 'Everyone at home ... this is awesome. I'm not going to be able to keep it together.' Gotterup, built more like fellow New Jersey athlete Mike Trout than a golfer, also won the opposite-field Myrtle Beach Classic last year. The Genesis Scottish Open had one of the strongest fields of the year, and the perks are far greater. The first stop is the British Open at Royal Portrush. Gotterup earned one of the three final spots through the International Qualifying Series, joined by Nicolai Hojgaard and Matti Schmid. Hojgaard closed with a 64 to move up 11 spots into a tie for fourth to join his twin brother at Royal Portrush. Schmid shot 71 and tied for 17th, helped by Jake Knapp's late collapse. Knapp was tied for the lead through five holes, but he took double bogey on the par-3 ninth and the rest of the back nine didn't go much better. He closed with a 74, losing on a chance to win and to play next week at Royal Portrush. McIlroy had said he was playing his best golf since going into the Masters, which he won in emotional fashion to complete the career Grand Slam. This was the first time he had seriously contended since that Masters victory, good timing with the Open in his native Northern Ireland starting on Thursday. But he couldn't keep up with Gotterup, who looked shaky at the start when he drove into a bunker and had to make a 4-foot bogey putt. He was rock solid the rest of the way. 'I'm really happy with where my game is — the way I played over the weekend, the shots that I hit, how I controlled my ball flight,' McIlroy said. 'It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that's about it.' McIlroy battled to the end, especially on No. 11 when he had to pitch out left-handed and still managed to save par. When it was over, he said he was on his way to Royal Portrush, which McIlroy had not seen since the Friday of the 2019 British Open when he missed the cut. Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick had a 67 and tied for fourth with Hojgaard, picking up valuable FedEx Cup points in what has been a down year. Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player coming off a two-week break, had a 67 and tied for eighth. It was his 10th consecutive tournament finishing eighth or better, a streak that began in the Houston Open. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
BRITISH OPEN '25: A return to Royal Portrush and a chance at redemption for Rory McIlroy
Australia's Adam Scott during day one of the Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club, in North Berwick, Scotland, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP) United States' Scottie Scheffler during day one of the Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club, in North Berwick, Scotland, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP) Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy in action on day two of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland, Friday July 11, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP) FILE - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy plays his approach shot to the 7th green during the first round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, July 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) FILE - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, in blue top and cap, squats down to look at his putt on the 6th green during the first round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, July 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) FILE - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, in blue top and cap, squats down to look at his putt on the 6th green during the first round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, July 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) Australia's Adam Scott during day one of the Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club, in North Berwick, Scotland, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP) United States' Scottie Scheffler during day one of the Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club, in North Berwick, Scotland, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP) Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy in action on day two of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland, Friday July 11, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP) FILE - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy plays his approach shot to the 7th green during the first round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, July 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) FILE - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, in blue top and cap, squats down to look at his putt on the 6th green during the first round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, July 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) Rory McIlroy already has everything he wanted from golf. His dream was to be the best player in the game, which he fulfilled long ago by reaching No. 1 in the world nine times. The tallest mountain took 11 years to climb, and this was truly rarefied air when McIlroy won the Masters in April to complete the career Grand Slam. Advertisement So joyous was that moment for McIlroy that he figured anything else he achieved in his career would be gravy. 'That very well could be the highlight of my career,' McIlroy said of his Masters green jacket and all that came with it. There very well could be one more — golf's oldest trophy on McIlroy's home soil. The 153rd edition of the British Open returns to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on July 17-20. There might not be a better way for McIlroy to conclude a most unforgettable season. Unlike the Masters at Augusta National, where he returned every April, chances to win a major on home soil don't come along very often for McIlroy. Irish eyes were on McIlroy in 2019 at Royal Portrush, where he hit his opening tee shot out-of-bounds and saw his spirited rally to make the cut fall just short. Advertisement For McIlroy, this is no ordinary British Open. 'If venues in golf matter to you, it maybe puts a little bit more pressure on you,' he said. From the emotional side of it, he thought about Novak Djokovic winning Olympic gold in tennis last year in what he knew would be his final chance. That was about timing. This is location, playing before the largest crowd to see golf on the Emerald Isle, celebrating the sixth and most recent winner of the career Grand Slam, and high hopes for their favorite son in golf. 'You think about it, and you can't pretend that it's not there,' McIlroy said. "But when you are on the golf course, you just have to go out there and play as if you're not playing at home, and just play as if it's another golf tournament. Advertisement 'But yeah, it obviously is a little more," he said. "It has a little more emphasis. There's something extra there.' For most everyone else, the emphasis is on the the last chance of the year to win a major. Scottie Scheffler, still the betting favorite as the No. 1 player in the world, goes after his second major this year and the third leg of the Grand Slam. Defending champion Xander Schauffele is still trying to catch up from a rib injury that kept him out for two months. The optimism in April going into a full slate of majors has given way to a little more urgency in July knowing there will be nearly nine months before the next chance. 'It depends on how you played in the first three," Justin Thomas said. 'Someone like me who hasn't played very well it's like, 'OK, I need to play well to make sure this year isn't a complete dud.' Maybe if you're Scottie or Rory, you'd love to play well but they've won a major this year.'' Advertisement It's very different for McIlroy. Even the four times McIlroy has played the Irish Open in his homeland haven't gone that well — missed cuts at Royal County Down in 2015 and Portstewart in 2017, a tie for 10th at Royal Portrush in 2012 and then a real crusher last year, losing a late lead at Royal County Down to Rasmus Hojgaard. But this is the Open, and McIlroy has a score to settle from the last one at Royal Portrush. So much hype, so many expectations, and he had a quadruple-bogey 8 on his card after one hole. He shot 79, and nearly recovered until missing a birdie on his last hole for a 65 to miss the cut by a single shot. The pressure doesn't go away, but Adam Scott senses something different, a comfort that a Masters green jacket brings McIlroy. Advertisement 'There's no doubt he knows what is hoped for him,' Scott said. 'Having won the career slam earlier this year, I think he goes in — even with all that expectation — with some freedom and probably a calmness. I imagine he'll have a much more sense of calmness and be able to enjoy it, which would lead to good golf — which is bad for all of us.' This will be a stage like no other across the Irish Sea. Royal Portrush went 68 years without holding the British Open, and 2019 was such a big success — Shane Lowry of Ireland delivered a sterling performance in rough weather to win by six shots — that it was awarded another Open just six years later. The R&A said there will be 278,000 spectators for the week, making it the second-largest crowd for an Open behind St. Andrews, which had 290,000 fans in 2022. That's 40,000 more spectators than Royal Portrush had in 2019. Advertisement Scheffler is playing the British Open for only the fifth time and he has yet to register much success in links golf, never finishing within five shots of the winner. 'I think one of the things that surprises us is the way turf is over here,' Scheffler said. 'I played in a lot of wind growing up at home. You grow up in Texas, you play in wind all the time, but the wind affects the ball differently because of the turf. This turf is a little bit spinier than the turf at home. I kind of had to adjust a little bit to take a little bit more spin off the ball, to take more club, take more spin off, just because of the way turf is here.' Schauffele will try to become only the fourth player in the last 50 years to win the claret jug in consecutive years, joining Padraig Harrington (2007-08), Tiger Woods (2005-06) and Tom Watson (1982-83). It's an exclusive list. McIlroy, meanwhile, knows a thing or two about exclusive lists. He joined the best one of them all by winning the Masters. It was a lifetime dream come true, a moment he believes might be as good as it gets. Four days at Royal Portrush might put that to the test. ___ AP golf:
